Clams With Ham Bell Peppers Basil Recipes

GRILLED CLAMS WITH BASIL BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• Heat a gas grill or prepare a charcoal grill with hot coals.
• Combine the bread crumbs, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, salt and pepper in a large serving bowl and set aside.
• When the grill is hot, place the clams in 1 layer on the hot grate and allow the heat to open the clams. They'll open gradually for about 5 minutes, then pop-open wide when they're done. Using tongs, remove the clams from the grill and place them in the bowl with the bread crumb mixture and toss together. Drizzle with the melted butter, and serve hot.

HALIBUT AND CLAMS WITH BELL PEPPERS AND SAFFRON

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic and thyme; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in wine and saffron. Add clams. Cover and simmer over medium heat until clams open, about 8 minutes (discard any clams that do not open). Remove from heat.
• Using tongs, transfer clams to bowl. Remove meat from shells; reserve meat. Strain cooking liquid and any accumulated clam juices into medium saucepan; discard solids. Add bottled clam juice to cooking liquid. Bring liquid to boil. Add peppers. Set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Add to skillet; cook until golden on bottom, about 2 minutes. Using spatula, turn fish over. Pour pepper mixture over fish. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until fish is just cooked through, about 3 minutes.
• Using slotted metal spatula, transfer fish to shallow soup plates. Add clam meat to skillet; stir just until heated through. Spoon over fish. Sprinkle with cilantro and basil.

NEWEST NEW ENGLAND HAM & CLAM CHOWDER FOR THE FAMILY

Steps:

• In a soup pot, brown the bacon; set aside when crisp.
• Add chopped onion (add the butter if you don't have a lot of bacon grease--otherwise save the butter for *later*--as noted below); saute onion for 2-3 minutes, then add potatoes, saute a few more minutes.
• Add green pepper to the pot, saute for about 1 minute.
• Mix veggies, then add ham and about 1/3 of the clam juice (don't bother measuring, just make sure the potatoes are covered).
• Simmer until the potatoes are just starting to get soft (20 minutes?).
• Add another shot of clam juice and 1 1/2°C of cream (or milk); return to a low simmer.
• Add remainder of clam juice from the big can and reserved from smaller cans; bring to a simmer again, stirring the pot occasionally to prevent sticking.
• ****If you'd like to have a more "rich" chowder, add the butter now.****.
• Mix remaining cream/milk with cornstarch, add gradually to simmering pot until slightly thickened (not goopy, please).
• Add salt and pepper to taste along with pinch (or two) of parsley.
• Remove from heat and add the clams; stir. Allow to rest for two - three minutes.
• Crumble crisp bacon over top of soup; stir.
• Serve immediately along with some hearty home-made croutons (1/2 loaf of French bread, cubed & toasted) and grated Cheddar cheese.
• VARIATIONS: Skip the ham and add 1-2 cups sweet corn kernels.
• ***NOTE*** When the store has a special on peppers, I buy a bunch, clean them up and chop into preparation-size bits, then quick-freeze them on cookie sheets (one-layer deep), then pour them into one-gallon zipper bags to store in the freezer. I keep a smaller container in my kitchen freezer for ready-access (and doesn't take up so much space).

CLAM PASTA WITH BASIL AND HOT PEPPER

Steps:

• Make the purée: Grind basil and parsley together in a food processor. (Alternatively, hand chop herbs or pound them in a mortar.) Add garlic paste and 1/4 cup olive oil and pulse to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rapid boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions, taking care to keep pasta quite al dente. It's best to use a timer, and drain pasta as soon as it's done.
• While pasta is cooking, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy-bottomed wide pot with a lid over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic, fennel seed if using and pepperoncino, and let sizzle without browning, about 1 minute. Add clams, stirring to coat with a wooden spoon. Raise heat to high, add wine and put on the lid. Cook, covered, until all clams have opened, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off heat. (Discard any clams that fail to open.)
• Add cooked pasta and basil purée to pot and toss gently to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with basil leaves and lemon wedges.

STEAMED CLAMS WITH HAM, BELL PEPPER, AND BASIL

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over low heat. Add ham and bell pepper and sauté until light brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and dried red pepper; stir 1 minute. Remove from heat.
• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Lightly brush baguette slices on both sides with oil. Grill bread until light brown on outside but soft on inside, about 2 minutes per side.
• Combine clams and wine in large pot. Cover and boil over high heat until clams begin to open, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer clams to 6 bowls, discarding any clams that do not open. Add liquid in pot to skillet with ham-bell pepper mixture. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until liquid is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in basil. Pour mixture over clams, dividing equally. Serve clams, passing grilled bread separately.